Let’s not be distracted from the truth of this 2016 presidential campaign message merely because of the imperfections of the messenger. While at times inartfully expressed, Donald Trump has questioned conventional wisdom and gone against the grain in ways only someone who is not a member of the political class can do. His pop culture roots give him a sort of popular legitimacy and grass roots appeal that cannot be denied or controlled by the mainstream media. He has proven to be resilient in the face of attacks, in many cases actually benefitting from negative publicity.

The media are afraid of this. They are so accustomed to being able to build people up and take them down with ease, that the Trump candidacy’s resistance to shocks makes them question their own power and prestige. Because they cannot take him down, they cannot control him, and that scares them even more. The mainstream media know that if that cannot succeed in destroying Donald Trump after building him up and feeding off the controversy generated by his candidacy, they are not in control. And that’s why they decided to unleash a ten-year old recording the eve of the second Presidential debate. They want desperately to control perspective, and they are failing.